São Paulo – Infância Refugiada – Retratos de um Conflito (Refugee Childhood – Portraits of a Conflict), by the Brazilian photographer Karine Garcêz, will be released August 19 at the Ceará International Book Biennial. Garcêz took the photos from 2012 on, in Middle East countries including Palestine. In 2014 and 2015, she went to Gaza; Beirut, Lebanon; Gaziantep, Turkey; and Yarmouk, Syria.
The photographs depict the lives of refugees (pictured above), especially children and teenagers. They were taken while Garcêz’s was traveling with a mission by Dutch NGO Al Wafaa Campaign, and have been featured previously in the Refugee Childhood exhibit at São Paulo’s Museum of Immigration.
All texts are in English and Portuguese, and art by the children in the photos is also shown. “The publication includes drawings the kids gave me as presents. They will be in the book for readers to color them up. The texts that accompany the photos address the relationship of environmental displacement in Brazil’s Northeast when it comes to asylum,” the photographer told ANBA. On the day of the launch, she’ll join a conversation and a signing session.
The book was partially crowdfunded, as previously reported by ANBA, in combination with investment by the author herself. Garcêz also relied on support from the government of the State of Ceará. In return for that, she’ll donate 10% of the copies to the Agentes de Leitura (Agents of Reading) program, of the Secretariat for Culture of the State of Ceará, which will distribute the book across the state.
The launch date, September 19th, marks the International Humanitarian Day. “[The date] is an homage to Sérgio Vieira de Melo, the former United Nations High Commissioner killed in a bombing in Iraq. This year, the UN chose the theme ‘humanitarian women.’ I picked this date to discuss this and to draw attention to the importance of this humanitarian work. We’ll also discuss photography, which is also celebrated on this day,” explained Garcêz.
The 132-page book is already available from the Portraits of a Conflict project’s website. A print copy goes for BRL 45, and the e-book version is available for BRL 35. The preface is by Wajih Abderrahman, a former dean at Jordan’s Isra University from 2006 to 2012.
After the Biennial, the photographer will promote the book in events across different states of Brazil. Check out the dates and locations:
Quick facts
Book launch – Infância Refugiada – Retratos de um Conflito
August 19, 5 pm
Ceará International Book Biennial – Centro de Eventos do Ceará – Av. Washington Soares, 999 – Edson Queiroz, Fortaleza
August 28
Paraíba State University – Campus 5
August 26
Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte
September 25, 7 pm
Al Janiah – São Paulo
September 18, 7 pm
Casa Nara – Rio de Janeiro
Book – Infância Refugiada – Retratos de um Conflito
Price: BRL 45 (print copy); BRL 35 (e-book)
Website: http://www.retratosdeumconflito.com.br/
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
